Thursday, September 04, 2003
David Walsh at the perennial pessimistic Worldwide Socialist WebSite writes:
"Media pundits and talk-show hosts regularly refer to the California recall vote, with its 135 candidates, as a "circus." Almost no one in the mainstream media has used this impolite term to describe the small mob of Christian fanatics in Montgomery."
Given the coincidence, you might find it interesting to read the Christian Science Monitor's article ("Commandments fray goes beyond Alabama") which concludes with just such a comparison:
Moore wiped sweat from his face during a statement Monday and quoted Patrick Henry: "Should I abandon my conscience now?" Protesters, mostly clad in shorts, shouted "No," as Moore and his blue-suited entourage left for a limousine.
Down the street on a shady bench, Thomas Green watched people come and go, asking for change for a Coke. "I'm a Christian, but God don't need defending," he says. "Between Alabama and California, they could put Barnum and Bailey out of business."
This article also offers other insights:
~ parallel activity of a group called "Faith and Action" installing 400 similar stone Commandments monuments;
~ the whipping up of fear and perception of oppression by elements of the Christian right, despite having conservative and Christian representatives throughout the state; and
~ contrast between historical civil rights activists (like King) and Judge Moore who "claims to represent a people who are in no way oppressed," in the words of one University of Alabama Dean.
Consider also the Washington Post article ("Two Tablets May Renew A High Court Headache") that explains the source of many existing 10 Commandments displays: "In the mid-1950s, the director Cecil B. DeMille and the Fraternal Order of Eagles service organization distributed several thousand sets of stone tablets to promote DeMille's film "The Ten Commandments." So here we have the perfect link, tens of thousands of commandments as studio advertisement, the premiere circus of Hollywood, and a dash of Charlton Heston for good measure.
I would further suggest that the actions of these monument "supporters" are indistinguishable in form and moral content from idolatry, elevating to a spiritual level the physical symbol itself in a purely self-gratifying and vapid demonstration. If there is anything in the world that is "Caesar's", it is the Government to whom we pay tax, and most obviously, the official buildings of Government itself. Are Moore's supporters wishing Christ had responded differently, to the effect of Keep for yourself what is Caesar's or Claim Caesar's for God?
"Media pundits and talk-show hosts regularly refer to the California recall vote, with its 135 candidates, as a "circus." Almost no one in the mainstream media has used this impolite term to describe the small mob of Christian fanatics in Montgomery."
Given the coincidence, you might find it interesting to read the Christian Science Monitor's article ("Commandments fray goes beyond Alabama") which concludes with just such a comparison:
Moore wiped sweat from his face during a statement Monday and quoted Patrick Henry: "Should I abandon my conscience now?" Protesters, mostly clad in shorts, shouted "No," as Moore and his blue-suited entourage left for a limousine.
Down the street on a shady bench, Thomas Green watched people come and go, asking for change for a Coke. "I'm a Christian, but God don't need defending," he says. "Between Alabama and California, they could put Barnum and Bailey out of business."
This article also offers other insights:
~ parallel activity of a group called "Faith and Action" installing 400 similar stone Commandments monuments;
~ the whipping up of fear and perception of oppression by elements of the Christian right, despite having conservative and Christian representatives throughout the state; and
~ contrast between historical civil rights activists (like King) and Judge Moore who "claims to represent a people who are in no way oppressed," in the words of one University of Alabama Dean.
Consider also the Washington Post article ("Two Tablets May Renew A High Court Headache") that explains the source of many existing 10 Commandments displays: "In the mid-1950s, the director Cecil B. DeMille and the Fraternal Order of Eagles service organization distributed several thousand sets of stone tablets to promote DeMille's film "The Ten Commandments." So here we have the perfect link, tens of thousands of commandments as studio advertisement, the premiere circus of Hollywood, and a dash of Charlton Heston for good measure.
I would further suggest that the actions of these monument "supporters" are indistinguishable in form and moral content from idolatry, elevating to a spiritual level the physical symbol itself in a purely self-gratifying and vapid demonstration. If there is anything in the world that is "Caesar's", it is the Government to whom we pay tax, and most obviously, the official buildings of Government itself. Are Moore's supporters wishing Christ had responded differently, to the effect of Keep for yourself what is Caesar's or Claim Caesar's for God?
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